God of War has no problem with the cap on the Xbox’s Starfield FPS

Even though a long-anticipated RPG of Bethesda was announced to be capped at 30 frames per second, it fueled a rather controversial subject in the gaming community. Known for their commitment to producing immersive, meticulously detailed worlds, Bethesda’s decision was recognized by some as a sign of the game’s incomplete development. However, this type of viewpoint was challenged by none other than Dannie Carlone, a senior environment artist at Sony Santa Monica and a key contributor to God of War Ragnarok.

The Starfield FPS cap is possible because Microsoft isn’t going to lie.

In the modern age of games, the argument for frameration versus graph fidelity has been a constant dispute. Despite the lack of fluid movement and responsiveness of 60FPS or higher games, other players argue that for large, expansive games like Starfield, the trade-off in visual detail is not worth it. Carlone is firmly in the second camps.

Carlone, a developer with an impressive portfolio, came to Bethesda’s defence in response to complaints from DreamcastGuy, a popular YouTuber known for his gaming news coverage and reviews. DreamcastGuy interpreted the FPS cap as an indication that Starfield might be released unfinished – an all-too-familiar scenario that has been played in AAA games recently. Carlones and I took a different view of the situation.

Battle in this area, large fans. Wanted to clarify It isn’t a sign of an unfinished game. That’s not a decision. 60fps on this scale would have huge impact on fidelity. I suppose they want a seamless look and a few more ‘popped in’ spots. And of course you have a right to dislike the choice.

Dannie Carlone (@Corgiboltz) June 12, 2023.

He argued that Bethesda’s decision to framerate is not a deliberate design choice, nor a sign of unavoidance or an incomplete work. The game was capped at three FPS, so that resolution was better and there was a limit to the pop-in, compared to the huge size of Starfield’s interplanetary map.

Although he acknowledged DreamcastGuy and his right to disagree with this decision, Carlone expressed admiration for his work on YouTube.

This controversy emerged during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023. Todd Howard, Bethesda’s director and executive producer, revealed the FPS limit, among other things. Howard explained that the decision was partly motivated by creative reasons and a desire to compromise on the games’ visual quality.

Starfield’s performance on both the Xbox Series and X souls the question of obliterating Microsoft in its own commercial space.

Even if you do that, you can’t get a word. Many point out the contrast between this FPS limit and Microsoft’s advertising, which, in the past, misemphasized the Xbox Series X and its ability to run the games at 60 and even 120 frames per second at 4K resolution.

Microsoft insists that the choice ultimately lies with the developers. Since Bethesda’s project began before Microsoft’s acquisition, there was no expectation that the tech giant would prioritize a 60 FPS standard. After the controversy surrounding Redfall, some hoped that Phil Spencer would go in and ask to make Starfield a large console seller if ever so kindly.

Many members of the gaming community expressed understanding of Bethesda’s decision, but noted that achieving high frame and visual fidelity simultaneously is difficult, especially for large games. Other people suggested that the FPS limit could be attributed to Microsoft’s desire for parity between the series X and S, given that the latter is expected to run Starfield at 1440p and 30 FPS.

And yet, it wasn’t long ago when a developer complained about the Xbox and its “potato GPU”.

As compared to year ago, Starfield looked after night and day, indicating Bethesda’s commitment to winning a completely unique and incredible game.

Whatever the weight of the 30-foot-thirty cap is, many believe it will impact the games long-term success very well. Starfield received high-resurgence and enjoyed more well-received reviews than other critically acclaimed titles. The real test of course will come once players experience Bethesda’s interstellar adventure by themselves.

Fingers crossed, it will succeed if only so, that Todd Howard will come back soon enough to work on Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls 6, a game which could be his last ever game.